DICHOTOMY OF LANGUAGE & THOUGHT IN THE INTERPRETATION OF METAPHOR IN THE QURAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp95-117Abstract
Previous literature either deciphered the literary and rhetorical aspects of metaphor or focused on its conceptual basis in the interpretation of the Quran. No attempt has so far been made to harness the linguistic and conceptual metaphor approaches to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the metaphors in the Quran. This paper reviews the existing literature on the interpretation of metaphor in the Quran from different theoretical perspectives. The review reveals that the application of different theoretical approaches has led to the dissociation of language and thought in the interpretation of metaphors. The linguistic approaches miss the bulk of conventional metaphors, while the cognitive approaches ignore the linguistic aspects of metaphor. The findings also reveal that the linguistic studies of metaphor concern themselves with the rhetorical beauty of the Holy Quran, while the conceptual metaphor studies explore the generic categorization of concepts. This paper calls for a more elaborate mechanism, which can account for both the linguistic and conceptual aspects of metaphor, to fill the gap between the linguistic and conceptual knowledge in the existing literature for a comprehensive interpretation of metaphors in the Quran.
Keywords: Cognitive models, conceptual metaphor, lexical concept, linguistic metaphor, majaz, metaphor.
Cite as: Sardaraz, K., & Ali, R. (2021). Dichotomy of language & thought in the interpretation of metaphor in the Quran. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(1), 95-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp95-117
References
Abdelaal, N. M., & Kaigama, A. (2015). Investigating metaphor used in surah al-Hadid to convey abstract meaning. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 9(11), 24-27.
Abdul-Raof, H. (2000). The linguistic architecture of the Qur’an. Journal of Qur’anic Studies, 2(2), 37-51.
Abdul-Raof, H. (2004). The Qur’an: Limits of translatability. In S. Faiq (Ed.), Cultural encounters in translation from Arabic (pp. 91-106). Multilingual Matters.
Abu Deeb, K. (1971). Al-Jurjānī’s classification of isti’āra with special reference to Aristotle’s classification of metaphor. Journal of Arabic Literature, 2(1), 48-75.
Al-Ali, A., El-Sharif, A., & Alzyoud, M. S. (2016). The functions and linguistic analysis of metaphor in the Holy Qur’an. European Scientific Journal, 12(14), 164-174.
Al-Jurjani, A. Q. (1959). Asrar al-balaghah. Mathba’a al-Madani.
Al-Jurjani, A. Q. (2000). Dalail al ijaz. Mathba’a al-Madani.
Al-Saggaf, M. A., Yasin, M. S. M., & Abdullah, I. H. (2014). Dualism of soul-person in English translated texts of the Qur’an. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 118(1), 42-50.
Al-Zamakhsharī, A. (1987). al-Kashshāf. Daar Al-Kutab ‘Arabi.
Arbib, M. (2005). From monkey-like action recognition to human language: An evolutionary framework for neurolinguistics. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(2), 105-124.
Arbib, M. (2011). From mirror neurons to complex imitation in the evolution of language and tool use. Annual Review of Anthropology, 40(1), 257-273.
Aristotle. (1920). Aristotle on the art of poetry (I. Bywater, trans.). Clarendon Press.
Aristotle. (1984). The rhetoric (R. W. Roberts, trans.). Modern Library.
Asad, M. (1984). The message of the Quran. Dar al-Andalus.
Barsalou, L. (1999). Perceptual symbol systems. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(4), 577-660.
Barsalou, L., Santos, A., Simmons, W. K., & Wilson, C. D. (2008). Language and simulation in conceptual processing. In M. de Vega, A. Glenberg, & A. Graesser (Eds.), Symbols, embodiment, and meaning (pp. 245-283). Oxford University Press.
Berrada, K. (2002). The limitations of the standard theories of metaphor and the conceptualist alternative. An examination of conceptual metaphors in the Qur’an. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University Hassan II. Morocco.
Berrada, K. (2006). Metaphors of light and darkness in the holy Quran: A conceptual approach. Basamat, 1(1), 45-64.
Berrada, K. (2007). Food metaphors: A contrastive approach. Metaphorik. de, 13(1), 1-38.
Black, M. (1954). Metaphor. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 55(1), 273-294.
Blasko, D. G., & Briihl, D. S. (1997). Reading and recall of metaphorical sentences: Effects of familiarity and context. Metaphor and Symbol, 12(4), 261-285.
Casasanto, D. (2010). Space for thinking. In V. Evans & P. Chilton (Eds.), Language, cognition and space: The state of the art and new directions (pp. 453-478). Equinox Publishing.
Casasanto, D., & Boroditsky, L. (2008). Time in the mind: Using space to think about time. Cognition, 106(2), 579-593.
Cervel, S. P., & de Mendoza, F. R. (2002). Cognitive operations and projection spaces. Jezikoslovlje, 3(1+2), 131-158.
Coulson, S., & Van Petten, C. (2002). Conceptual integration and metaphor: An event-related potential study. Memory & Cognition, 30(6), 958-968.
de Mendoza, F. R. (1998). On the nature of blending as a cognitive phenomenon. Journal of Pragmatics, 30(3), 259-274.
de Mendoza, F. R., & Hernández, L. P. (2003). Cognitive operations and pragmatic implication. In Klaus-Uwe Panther & Linda L. Thornburg (Eds.), Pragmatics and beyond new series (pp. 23-50). John Benjamin Publishing Company.
El-Sharif, A. (2011). A linguistic study of Islamic religious discourse: Conceptual metaphors in the Prophetic tradition. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Queen Mary University of London, London.
El-Sharif, A. (2016). A theoretical account on the study of metaphor in didactic discourse. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(2), 100-112.
Eldin, A. A. T. S. (2015). A cognitive metaphorical analysis of selected verses in the glorious Qu’ran. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 4(2), 193-198.
Emritte, N. H. (2011). Mental tropes in the Holy Qur’an. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of South Africa, Pretoria. South Africa.
Evans, V. (2006). Lexical concepts, cognitive models and meaning-construction. Cognitive Linguistics, 17(4), 491-534.
Evans, V. (2009a). How words mean: Lexical concepts, cognitive models, and meaning construction. Oxford University Press.
Evans, V. (2009b). Semantic representation in LCCM theory. New Directions in Cognitive Linguistics, 1(1), 27-46.
Evans, V. (2010). Figurative language understanding in LCCM Theory. Cognitive Linguistics, 21(4), 601-662.
Evans, V. (2013). Metaphor, lexical concepts, and figurative meaning construction. Cognitive Semiotics, 5(1-2), 73-107.
Evans, V. (2015). What is in a concept? Analog versus parametric concepts in LCCM theory. In E. Margolis & S. Laurence (Eds.), The conceptual mind: New directions in the study of concepts (pp. 251-290). MIT Press.
Eweida, S. (2007). The realization of time metaphors and the cultural implications: An analysis of the Quran and English Quranic translations. (Special Project PK). Stockholm University, Sweden.
Fauconnier, G. (1997). Mappings in thought and language. Cambridge University Press.
Fauconnier, G., & Turner, M. (1994). Conceptual projection and middle spaces. In Cognitive Science report (pp. 1-40). University of California.
Fauconnier, G., & Turner, M. (1998). Conceptual integration networks. Cognitive Science, 22(2), 133-187.
Fauconnier, G., & Turner, M. (2008). The way we think: Conceptual blending and the mind’s hidden complexities. Basic Books.
Fauzia, T. S. (2005). Nature imagery in the Quran with reference to the earth. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad.
Fauzia, T. S. (2006). Qur’anic imagery of doomsday and resurrection. Renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/
Fauzia, T. S. (2007). Qur’ānic imagery of light and darkness. Renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/
Gentner, D., Imai, M., & Boroditsky, L. (2002). As time goes by: Evidence for two systems in processing space→ time metaphors. Language and Cognitive Processes, 17(5), 537-565.
Gibbs, R. W., Lima, P. L. C., & Francozo, E. (2004). Metaphor is grounded in embodied experience. Journal of Pragmatics, 36(7), 1189-1210.
Giora, R. (1997). Understanding figurative and literal language: The graded salience hypothesis. Cognitive Linguistics, 8(1), 183-206.
Giora, R. (2002). Literal vs. figurative language: Different or equal? Journal of Pragmatics, 34(4), 487-506.
Glucksberg, S. (2003). The psycholinguistics of metaphor. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(2), 92-96.
Glucksberg, S., Keysar, B., & McGlone, M. S. (1992). Metaphor understanding and accessing conceptual schema:
Reply to Gibbs (1992). Psychological Review, 99(3), 578-581.
Golzadeh, F. A., & Pourebrahim, S. (2013). Death metaphor in religious texts: A cognitive semantics approach. The International Journal of Humanities, 20(4), 61-78.
Grady, J. (1999). A typology of motivation for conceptual metaphor: Correlation vs. resemblance. In J. R. W. Gibbs & G. J. Steen (Eds.), Metaphor in cognitive linguistics: Selected papers from the 5th international cognitive linguistics conference, Amsterdam (pp. 79-100). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Haleem, M. A. (1993). Context and internal relationships: Keys to Qur’anic exegesis. In G. R. Shareef & A. A. Shareef (Eds.), Approaches to the Qur’an (pp. 71-98). Routledge.
Haleem, M. A. (1999). Understanding the Qur’an: Themes and style. IB Tauris.
Heinrichs, W. (1984). On the genesis of the ḥaqíqa-majáz dichotomy. Studia Islamica, 59(1), 111-140.
Heinrichs, W. (1998). Metaphor. In S. J. Meisami & P. Starkey (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Arabic literature (pp. 522-524). Routledge.
Hilmi, A. B. A., Yusoff, Z. M., Amir, S., & Zakaria, Z. (2017). The review of the words adna al-ard and al-‘ankabut in Malay translation of holy Quran: Analysis guided by science-oriented exegesis methodology. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 2(1), 146-158.
Ibn Qutaybah, A. (1973). Ta’wil mushkil al-Qur’an (2nd ed.). Dar al-Thurath.
Jahiz, A. (2003). Kitab al-Khiwan (2nd ed.). Daar al-Kutub al-A’almiyah.
Jäkel, O. (2002). Hypotheses revisited: The cognitive theory of metaphor applied to religious texts. Metaphorik de, 2(1), 20-42.
Kashaniha, Z., Mirbagheri, S. M., & Babashah, F. (2015). The role of Quran analogies to understand great divine teachings. Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, 9(2), 41-47.
Kathir, U. (1998). Tafsir ibn kathir. Dar al-Kutub al-A’almiyyah.
Khalaf, I. N. A., & Yusoff, M. Y. Z. (2012). The Qur’an: Limits of translatability. International Journal of Quranic
Research, 2(1), 73-85.
Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 202-251). Cambridge University Press.
Lakoff, G. (2008). The neural theory of metaphor. In J. R. R. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 17-38). Cambridge University Press.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980a). The metaphorical structure of the human conceptual system. Cognitive Science, 4(2), 195-208.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980b). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago press.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the flesh: The embodied mind and its challenge to western thought. Basic books.
Lakoff, G., & Turner, M. (1989). More than cool reason: A field guide to poetic metaphor. University of Chicago Press.
Libdeh, A. (2011). Metaphor in Arabic rhetoric: Call for innovation. Jordan Journal of Applied Science “Humanities Series”, 13(1), 227-242.
Libdeh, A. (2012). The inimitability of the glorious Qur’an: A metaphoric perspective of the case of husband-wife intimate relationship. Jordan Journal of Applied Science “Humanities Series”, 14(1), 149-162.
Maula, A. (2011). A metaphor translation of the holy Qur’an: A comparative analytical study. (Strata one master’s thesis). State Islamic University, Jakarta.
Mohaghegh, A., & Ketabi, S. (2015). Qur’anic metaphors and their English and Persian translations: Dead or alive? Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 5(2), 103-122.
Mohaghegh, A., & Dabaghi, A. (2013). A comparative study of figurative language and metaphor in English, Arabic, and Persian with a focus on the role of context in translation of Qur’anic metaphors. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 3(4), 275-282.
Mohamed, M. T. (2012). The metaphor of nature in the holy Quran: A critical metaphor analysis. Language in India, 12(11), 83-100.
Noorgostari, A., MirMomtaz, A. A., & Kangazian, A. (2014). Imagery of the events before the resurrection day from a ‘simile’ point of view in holy Quran. Reef Resources Assessment and Management Technical Paper, 40(1), 192-201.
O’Rourke, F. (2006). Aristotle and the metaphysics of metaphor. Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, 21(1), 155-190.
Oloyede, I. O. (1989). Eschatology as portrayed in Fi Zilali’l Qur’an of Sayyid Qutb. Iqbal Review Online. Retrieved from http://www.allamaiqbal.com/publications/journals/review/oct89/index.html
Ortony, A. (1979). Beyond literal similarity. Psychological Review, 86(3), 161-180.
Qutb, S. (1997). Fi zilal Al Quran (S. M. S. SheAl-Razi, trans.). Idara Manshurat e Islami.
Qutb, S. (2004). al-Taswir al-fanni fi-Al-Qur’an. Dar al-shuruq.
Rahman, F. (1980). Major themes of the Qur’an (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Reda, G. (2012). A study of two Qur’anic counterfactuals: An application of a model of conceptual projection and integration. International Journal of Linguistics, 4(4), 139-156.
Reddy, M. J. (1979). The conduit metaphor: A case of frame conflict in our language about language. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 164-201). Cambridge University Press.
Richards, I. A. (1936). The philosophy of rhetoric. Oxford University Press.
Ricoeur, P. (2003). The rule of metaphor: The creation of meaning in language. Psychology Press.
Ritchie, D. (2003). Argument is war – Or is it a game of chess? Multiple meanings in the analysis of implicit metaphors. Metaphor and Symbol, 18(2), 125-146.
Sardaraz, K., & Ali, R. (2016). Conceptualisation of death and resurrection in the Holy Quran: A cognitive-semantic approach. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 1(2), 11-24.
Sardaraz, K., & Ali, R. (2017). A cognitive-semantic study of the spatial preposition fī (فِي) in the Quran. The Asian Journal of Humanities, 24(2), 89-122.
Sardaraz, K., & Ali, R. (2018). Relationship between conceptual metaphors and Arabic roots in the Qur'an. Peshawar Islamicus, 9(2), 41-61.
Sardaraz, K., & Ali, R. (2019). A cognitive-semantic approach to the interpretation of death metaphor themes in the Quran. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 4(2), 219-246.
Sardaraz, K., & Ali, R. (2020). Argument is war metaphor in the Qur’ān. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 10(1), 66-86.
Sardaraz, K., Ali, R., & Nusrat, A. (2020). A three-tier model for intertextuality in the Holy Qurᾱn. Tahdhīb al Afkār, 7(1), 15-36.
Sardaraz, K., Badshah. N. S., & Khan, I. U. (2019). Cognitive semantic study of the preposition ‘Min’ in the Quran. Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies, 4(2), 83-109.
Sardaraz, K., & Naz, R. (2019). Evolution of Balāghah and Majāz in Arabic rhetoric and the need for its innovation. BURJIS, 6(2), 28-44.
Sardaraz, K., & Nusrat, A. (2019). Concept of life & death in Ghani Khan's poetry: A cognitive semantic approach. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, 13(3), 15-19.
Shokr, M. (2006). The metaphorical concept “life is a journey” in the Qur’an: A cognitive-semantic analysis. Metaphorik. de, 10(1), 94-132.
Tversky, A. (1977). Features of similarity. Psychological review by the American Psychological Association, 85(1), 327-352.
Ubaida, A. (1961). Majaz ul Quran. Maktaba al-Khanji.
Vervaeke, J., & Kennedy, J. M. (2004). Conceptual metaphor and abstract thought. Metaphor and Symbol, 19(3), 213-231.
Zwaan, R. A. (2016). Situation models, mental simulations, and abstract concepts in discourse comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 23(4), 1028-1034.
Zwaan, R. A., & Madden, C. J. (2005). Embodied sentence comprehension. In D. Pecher & R. A. Zwaan (Eds.), Grounding cognition: The role of perception and action in memory, language, and thinking (pp. 224-245). Cambridge University Press.
